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Friday, 28 August 2009

Another splendidly candid shot, from the drawing room at Kenwood circa 1965. That's Alf Bicknell, the Beatles' chauffeur (as opposed to Les Anthony, John's personal driver) nearest the dining room door - and clearly having a whale of a time, too. Is that Neil Aspinall on the couch? Looks like it to me - which means this may have been taken by Mal Evans. Or not. As ever. Note (what is likely to be) Scotch and Coke on the table in front of John.Speaking of intoxicants, Alf Bicknell, interestingly enough, in an interview not that long before his death, contradicted one of the great yarns of Beatles' lore - namely the "Dental Experience". Alf's version of events was a little more prosaic - to wit: He drove them to John Riley's place, waited for a couple of hours, whereupon they came out and informed him of the naughty dentist's actions...and then he drove them back to George's. Fin. Thus no Pickwick Room (and Klaus Voormann does not remember them being there that night), no Ad-Lib, no George driving home at 18 mph, etc. etc., though this narrative does still leave room for submarine based antics. However, stacked up against the fact that Alf would have been the only one not tripping, and therefore possibly slightly better placed to recall veraciously, it must be said that John, Cynthia, George and Pattie all broadly agreed on the events of that evening in their various recollections - and their version is backed up by Ringo, who remembers them appearing at the Ad-Lib, and Riley's girlfriend Cyndy Bury, the only other person present at the dinner party itself. So it's yet another odd one. Which should be no big surprise by now. (And what does it matter?)Great photo, though.